


Welcome to the Family

by angstyelephant



Series: The Knights of Gotham [6]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Batman and the Signal (Comics), DCU (Comics)
Genre: Barbara Gordon is Oracle, Bruce Wayne is Batman, Cassandra Cain is Batgirl, Constructive Criticism Welcome, Dick Grayson is Nightwing, Duke Thomas is Signal, Duke Thomas loves his family, Duke Thomas-centric, Good Sibling Duke Thomas, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Jason Todd is Red Hood, Mild Language, Not Beta Read, Not Canon Compliant, Not beta read we die like robins, Stephanie Brown is Spoiler, Tim Drake is Red Robin, canon i don't know her
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:54:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25300441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angstyelephant/pseuds/angstyelephant
Summary: In which Duke Thomas goes back to the beginning.
Relationships: Cassandra Cain & Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Duke Thomas & Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne, Duke Thomas & Bruce Wayne
Series: The Knights of Gotham [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/614036
Comments: 8
Kudos: 65
Collections: the batman family





	Welcome to the Family

**Author's Note:**

> FAIR WARNING: I'm not that familiar with Duke Thomas. I left the active-comics-reading just after Endgame and while I've stayed up-to-date with DC for the most part, I have not read into many storylines between that and Dark Nights: Metal. As a result, I may have characterised Duke incorrectly. If you believe I have, please PLEASE let me know! I want to get him right because it's genuinely not fair if I have this in-depth look into the other Bats and not Duke. He's a Bat and I'll take no criticism on the matter.
> 
> Events referenced: Batman: Endgame, Robin War, and Batman: Rebirth.
> 
> Constructive criticism is always appreciated.

Duke stared at the Wayne mausoleum, the bouquet of chrysanthemums clutched tightly in his hand. He took deep breaths, taking in the intricate Greco-Roman detailing on the aged marble.

It was grand, as grand as a crypt could be, showing the wealth of the family name carved into the frieze. Duke appreciated the intricate bats expertly hidden within the Corinthian columns and the reliefs of Themis and Dike, Greek representations of morality and justice, on each side of the entrance. He took one last deep breath, before approaching Themis, where Alfred said there was a keypad hidden behind the folds of her skirt. Duke felt around for it and punched in the code Alfred gave him, 1047, and waited for the tell-tale unlocking of the door. When he heard it, Duke pushed the heavy bronze doors open, coughing slightly at the accumulated dust suddenly shifting inside.

When Duke had expressed his interest about going to the crypt to Alfred, he was appropriately shocked. In the old man’s own words, Duke “was one of the few who wanted to see Batman’s origins firsthand.” Alfred didn’t ask what prompted Duke’s sudden request but simply told him where to go and what to do.

Duke left the doors ajar, using the light to enhance his vision. He spotted a bronze vase on a podium in the center of the crypt, opting to put his offering there. He rearranged the white flowers slightly, hoping the ghosts protecting his new found family would appreciate his nod to the purity of death.

He turned, looking at the wall of deceased Waynes on his left. The older plaques depicted names of Bruce’s ancestors, various members of Gotham with some of their most notable achievements. Duke walked around the crypt, carefully analyzing the plaques as they became less faded and more modernized. Duke stopped in front of the plaques in the middle of the right-side wall. These were the plaques that started Bruce’s mission, the tombs of Thomas and Martha Wayne.

Duke sighed, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his jeans. He shifted, feeling the dirt under his sneakers, while reading the epitaphs. _Thomas Wayne, father and husband, a friend to Gotham. Martha Wayne, mother and wife, a friend to Gotham._ Duke looked at the ground.  
“I’m really gonna do this, huh?” He whispered. “Okay, uh. Hi Mr and Mrs Wayne, I, uh…my name is Duke. I just joined the family.

“I’m not like the others. I didn’t have that bad of a home life before I met Bruce. I wasn’t raised to be an assassin, I didn’t grow up on the streets, my parents weren’t crime lords or connected to a secret society looking to control Gotham.

“I don’t fight in the night, like the others do. I’ll help out, but I don’t actively patrol then. I do it in the day, or like Alfred says, I ‘expand the shadow of the Batman in the daylight.’ I, uh…I’m not a Robin. I’m not one of Bru—Batman’s little birds, helping him fight crime in the dead of night. I mean—I kinda was for a few weeks, but I’m not anymore. I’m Signal. I’m a meta, I protect Gotham during the day. Hell, I wear mostly yellow, not even black or grey.

“I—I’m different than the others. Sure, I’m smart. I beat Riddler at his own game, but I’m not a genius like Tim or Babs. I might be a good fighter, but I sure as hell can’t top Damian or Jason or Cass. I’m not a leader like Dick. I’m not really that supportive and bubbly like Steph is, either. I—what am I trying to do, fuck.”

Duke shook his head and moved to the next few plaques. He knew these tombs were empty, but the fact that the names were there sent chills down his spine. _Jason Todd, son and hero, a good soldier. Richard Grayson, son and hero, a loyal leader. Stephanie Brown, daughter and hero, a compassionate light. Damian Wayne, son and hero, a misjudged friend. Bruce Wayne, son and father, a lost hero._  
“Fuck, I—why are these still here?” Duke frowned. “Does…does Bruce still come here and see these? I—oh my god.” Duke took his hands out of his pockets to rub his face, before crossing them across his chest. He looked towards Thomas and Martha’s tombs.

“Look, I get Bruce is beyond fucked up. Losing his parents…I get that on a spiritual level. My parents…Joker killed my parents and sent me on a spiral that made me end up here.” Duke paused, trying to think of what to say next. “Maybe—I...fuck. Okay, I’ll put it this way: I wanna help Bruce. Not just help Batman, but Bruce, himself. His…he’s not…he’s got this emotion-suppressing stick shoved so far up his ass it’s actually annoying. I can tell he loves them—us all; why else would he willingly take in so many angsty teens and teach them how to fight?

“I’m not like the others, I accept that," he paused. "I’m gonna open Bruce’s heart. I’m gonna make sure he finally tells everyone how much he cares. I—I love this family. I don’t miss my parents that much anymore because I love these assholes.

“I just wanted to come here and introduce myself to you. I…as morbid as it sounds, I wanna thank you for putting this into motion. You two changed so many lives, sure, in the worst way possible, but…you helped me find this family. My parents made me swear when I was a kid to always protect family, so here I am. I’ll—I’ll do everything I can to protect them.”

Duke wiped a tear from his cheek, exhaling quickly and looking up at the ceiling of the mausoleum. He shook his head, opting to leave the mausoleum before he gave himself second-hand embarrassment, if that was even possible. He stopped at the entrance, the door in his hand, and looked back at the plaques.

“If—if you see my parents, in whatever afterlife you all are in, can you tell them I love them? That I still remember the promise?”

**Author's Note:**

> There's my view of Duke: he's formatively motivated by his similarities and differences with the nuclear Bats and sees himself as someone who can provide a new look at life for them all. He's just like them (misses his parents, has a sense of justice), but still fundamentally different (a meta-human, a ray of light compared to the dark (k)night). 
> 
> I'll repeat again: if I have something about Duke wrong, or you'd like to tell me something about Duke that's important to my character study (besides the obvious), please let me know! I want to do his character justice.
> 
> Constructive criticism is always appreciated.


End file.
